ATTENDING HcPIE – ISSUE NO. 544

As time is continuously moving forward, so does progress in every field. For example, in 1903, the Wright brothers took flight with the first self-propelled and functional aircraft. Less than 100 years later, sixty-six years later to be exact, Neil Armstrong took a rocket to the moon. And as I type, in 2019, robots are patrolling Mars, and the thought of humans taking the trip to Mars isn’t that far out of the question. Though it may be a bit more behind the scenes compared to space travel, it’s equally important: the advancements that have been made and continue to be made in the realm of healthcare, packaging and sterility. At the center of all the progress being made remains the patient. Achieving optimal patient outcome remains the driving factor behind each advancement, as packaging professionals strive to equip medical personnel with understandable and sterile packaging, allowing them to efficiently and safely aid patients. I had the opportunity to learn about the advancements that have been made, and the upcoming plans, in healthcare packaging last month at HcPIE (Healthcare Packaging Immersion Experience). HcPIE is a two-day bi-annual event, hosted by Michigan State University, that showcases the progress, technology and sterility in healthcare packaging. Medical device packaging professionals and healthcare practitioners come together for HcPIE. They collaborate, innovate and share how things have been, how they are, and where we’re going when it comes to healthcare and healthcare packaging. Packaging, though it may be overlooked, is a vital feature to each and every healthcare product. Sterile products need packaging to ensure nothing jeopardizes that sterility during travel, when being opened, to point-of-use. Also, in the healthcare realm, it’s important that packaging is easy to understand and that it can be opened in an efficient manner. Our Packaging Engineer here at Healthmark, and our Quality team, work daily to provide the safest and most fitting packaging for each of our products. They keep up-to-date on each advancement and on industry standards to ensure packaging meets or exceeds expectations. This fits with the Healthmark Policy, “To provide our customers with quality products and support services in a timely and effective manner. We are continuously evaluating our Quality Management System to make improvements and exceed customer expectations.” HcPIE was an excellent opportunity to observe the science and progress in healthcare packaging, giving me a deeper understanding and appreciation of all that is done to keep products safe and patients safe. On top of learning so much, Hanna and I took home the trophy for the “Murder Mystery Simulation.” Turns out we’re decent crime-solvers, when it comes to murder mystery simulations, at least.